By Jan Lopatka
PRAGUE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A plan by the Czech prime minister
to reshuffle his cabinet threatened to weaken the minority
government still further on Tuesday, days after the country took
over the European Union presidency.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said he wanted to replace
unpopular Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek, head of the junior
coalition Christian Democrats, following a crushing defeat in
October regional and Senate elections.
The Christian Democrats backed Cunek on Tuesday and called
for the dismissal instead of Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek,
a Christian Democrat and a close ally of Topolanek.
"I put forward a proposal for ... the departure of Jiri
Cunek," Topolanek told a news conference. "I hope the Christian
Democrats will sort this out, and will not remove ... a minister
considered to be the best finance minister of this region."
Kalousek has overseen both a reduction in personal income
taxes and a cut in the budget deficit to below plan last year.
Topolanek aims to give the cabinet a facelift after his
three-party coalition was trounced by the leftist opposition in
the October votes and was weakened by defections in parliament.
Those woes have not helped ease worry among some European
leaders over the Czechs' ability to lead as EU president as the
Union grapples with an economic crisis, a gas supply row between
Ukraine and Russia, and the renewed conflict in Gaza.
The reshuffle, already delayed several times by protracted
talks, is not expected to involve the EU affairs or foreign
portfolios held by Alexandr Vondra and Karel Schwarzenberg, the
key players in the Czechs' six-month stint at the EU's helm.
FINAL DECISION
Cunek said a final decision on Kalousek would be made by
wider party leadership bodies on Friday. He confirmed reports
that the main candidate for finance minister was 31-year old
Tomas Sedlacek, an unaffiliated economist at bank CSOB.
Topolanek has the sole legal right to nominate ministers but
is bound politically to seek approval of coalition partners. He
said he did not see the row toppling the cabinet although the
Christian Democrats may quit the coalition.
The departure of a coalition partner would weaken the
cabinet further but not immediately topple it unless the party
sides with the opposition in a no-confidence vote.
"I may be worried this could lead to the Christian
Democrats' departure from the cabinet. That is a threat for any
... government," Topolanek said, but added:
"I am not worried that it would lead to a government
collapse at this point."
Political analyst Josef Mlejnek Jr. said Topolanek was
unlikely to risk the fall of the cabinet.
"He would lose face if he let Kalousek go and kept Cunek,
but it is possible this will be his only choice," he said.
The government has just 96 seats in the 200-strong lower
house, and has had to rely on several independents, including
government parliamentarian defectors, to push through
legislation and survive repeated no-confidence motions.
A successful no-confidence vote in the cabinet would not
necessarily lead directly to an early election but rather to
talks on a new formation. During that period, which could take
months, the government would stay in office with full powers.
The next election is due in mid-2010.
(Additional reporting by Jan Korselt; Editing by Charles Dick)
